Dear parents,

If you have a cereal box, then send your child in with one, as we may get the chance to create a light box with a cereal box.

Thanks – John

Dear parents,

The first day back to school coincides with a solar eclipse. Although we are not in the path of the total eclipse, we should be able to see a partial eclipse of about 90% totality. Obviously, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and the school has purchased enough solar eclipse glasses for students and faculty.

Therefore, this will be a slightly unusual first day back. Apart from some brief getting to know you activities and introductions, we will be spending most of the day preparing for and observing the eclipse. Students will be given clear safety instructions about how to wear the glasses and not to look at the sun at any point during the eclipse. We will also spend some time constructing a pin hole projector. We can also use binoculars to project an image of the sun onto paper. Therefore, if you wish to send some binoculars in with your child, then we can organize this project.

This is a link to some good information that we will be using in class: http://static.nsta.org/extras/solarscience/SolarScienceInsert.pdf.

Monday is, like the rest of the week, an early out day. School will be finishing at 1 pm.

If you have any questions about the beginning of school, or the eclipse, then please email me.

Many thanks – John

Dear parents,

Tomorrow (Tuesday 15th) evening is the back to school pool party where you can meet up with teachers and staff and have some fun! It is from 7-9pm at the North Shore Aquatic Center.

At the pool party you will have a chance to meet Bri McMullin, who used to be our room mom last year. Bri is organizing the 5K run and pancake breakfast for Saturday September 23rd. This is a big fundraising event for the school and Bri will be there with information about how you can get involved. Alternatively, if you can’t make it tomorrow, you can always email her at: brianne.mcmullin@gmail.com 

Regarding fundraising, all benefits from fundraising events now go directly to the school, rather than, for example,  just for the 6th or 9th grade field trips.

If you are interested in purchasing school spirit shirts, here is the link: https://squareup.com/store/MariaMontessoriAcademy. You can also try on school spirit shirts at the pool party tomorrow evening and put in an order there. School spirit shirts can be worn as part of the dress code and here is the link regarding the dress code: http://mariamontessoriacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Dress-Code-Guidelines-Updated.pdf.

Lastly, for information through social media about MMA, you can go to @MMAofUT on Twitter and for Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MMAofUT/.

Thanks everybody!

John

Dear parents,

Here is the supply list again in case some of you did not get it through the email. There are no changes.

Thanks – John

2017-18 Student Supply List for Mr. John’s class

 What is required this school year?

• Flash drive – with the increasing use of computers this is now essential (a safer place to save work and allows students to bring work home if required).
• Colored pencils – we have a large selection of colored pencils in the class, but if you would like your child to have some personal ones then it is recommended.
• Blue or black pens – four (two of each).
• Index cards, lined 3” x 5” – 1 packet only.
• For new students to the class only: Three 2 inch or 1 inch binders (one for math, language and social studies). One 1-inch binder (for physical science). (If you are a returning student then students should already have their own set of binders). Please do not bring anything bigger than a 2-inch binder – we are running out of shelf space! We do not use composition notebooks in class.
• Plastic dividers for each binder (pocket dividers are optional).
• Trapper keeper. Can be optional, but a lot of students find them very useful.
• # 2 Pencils – 24. If the student prefers to use mechanical pencils, it will be their responsibility to supply leads.
• Dry erase markers – blue and black, or a combination of blue, black, green and red.
• Scissors – appropriate for your child’s size/age and left or right handed.
• Handheld pencil sharpener with shavings catcher attached.
• Erasers for pencils – 10.
• Clipboard – we have approximately 15 clipboards in the class. However, these tend to disappear, so a clipboard with the student’s name is a good idea.
• 12-inch ruler.
• 2 Glue sticks
• Compass and protractor for geometry.
• One small ream of copy paper.
• One packet of wide-ruled lined notebook paper, 150 sheets each.
• 2 rolls of paper towels.
• Plastic placemat for lunch – label on the back with your child’s name.
• Refillable water bottle – labeled with student’s name in permanent marker.
• A quart or sandwich size box of Ziplock bags.
• Indoor shoes (slippers) – can be Croc-like , or plain slippers without cartoon characters or designs. No flip-flops please.

What is not required this year

• Pink erasers
• Crayons
• Kleenex